Archive:Monthly Write-a-Thon/October 3, 2007

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What's a Write-a-Thon?

It's a bunch of people getting together on a wiki at a particular time to do a bunch of writing. It's like an online party! Heck no, it is an online party! It's also an excuse for infrequent wikiers to show up and actually pitch in party hardy.

But hey, why not show up in between the write-ins, too!

When?

Write-a-Thons happen the first Wednesday of every month. The next Write-a-Thon is Wednesday, September 5. September 5 starts on September 4, 1200 UTC, in New Zealand, and ends on September 6, 1000 UTC, in Hawaii. Save The Date! Put it on your calendar! Set yourself a reminder!

Any new article you create, and any edit you make to somebody else's Write-a-Thon article, when it's that day in your part of the world, will count.

Our first Write-a-Thon took place Wednesday, August the 1st, and was considered a roaring good time--we had about 30 partiers creating something like 50 articles, and editing lots.

What are the rules?

Rules? This is a party! There are no rules!

Well, OK, maybe there are a couple rules:

• We'll have a Write-a-Thon the first Wednesday of every month.
• To participate, you only have to do two things: (1) start a new article (even just a stub will qualify, if not too short - and please remember to include the CZ:The Article Checklist!), and (2) make a substantive edit (not just a copyedit) to somebody else's new article. Then you can list your name here as a partier. Until then, you're just a porch-sitter, party-crasher, or total party poop.

Create an article, already!

Check it out: Start an article!

The Partiers

• Aleta wrote about influenza but is not a biologist so tried flower to make herself feel better, but is still out of her depth. Puttered in the garden but the weather is poor, so no solar power. Time to quit, but couldn't resist editing Tina Turner and Oklahoma, so of course I had to say something about Rodgers and Hammerstein. I now have a pounding headache and need antibiotics and analgesics, but this is a party after all, so I'll settle for alcohol. Can one of you bring along champagne or sherry??? Created an article about the crazy bowerbirds in my garden eating all the flowers; it must be the fault of the lunar eclipse. As things wind to a close in the States, catalogued the gardens and spent some time listening to musicals with Hayford while sipping champagne--thanks, Derek!

• Supten started John Snow (physician) and edited influenza and Interspike Interval Histogram. He would love if the partiers (or others) can help in enriching the other pages he had started long time back - viz., Clinical decision support system, Evidence-based medicine, and Hemispheric lateralization.

• Gareth Leng started Interspike Interval Histogram. OK, not a bestseller, and edited John Snow (physician) and Nitroglycerin

• Yuval Langer started Nitroglycerin because he loves explosions, but knowing so little about it, he created a small-ish stub. He now needs your help. Yuval edited solar power. Also, he wouldn't mine you helping him with the Volhard titration he once created... Feeling hungry for spiritual well being he went to the hot dog article to add some Discordian trivia.

• Ian Johnson found himself up late in Europe with Tina Turner on Highway Number 19, and will have to just keep the porch clean until partying for real tomorrow and joined the party over in Oklahoma.

• Todd Coles was enjoying the wind sweeping down the plains, so he started an article on his beloved Oklahoma. So far have edited Tina Turner.

• Jay Proctor refused to go outside in the 5 degree freezing rain in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Lacking any beer to pass the time with he settled for editing the article instead, and a double shot of tequila.

• Anton Sweeney went phishing. After finding himself rudely ejected to the party, he went to watch Tina Turner in Mad Max 3. Returning later, he brought beer (again!) and hot dogs.

• Derek Harkness Kicking off with some food to keep those on the other side of the world going, I made some hot dogs then went all morbid and added Spanish Flu to influenza. As Aleta requested, I brough some champagne with me too. Spotted a lunar eclipse then noticed the time.

• Denis Cavanagh went for a walk in the Irish Countryside, being quickly reminded of the Land League and its struggle for Irish Rural Land Reform. Then, later on in the day, reminded by his earlier walk in his native Monaghan (Though I did that another time) he remembered how he had heard once through his grandfather that the Ulster Volunteer Force once drilled openly there. Those were the days, eh?

• Kjetil Ree founded Lübeck, before he visited Oklahoma.

• Larry Sanger started a proper article about epistemology and got hungry editing hot dog.
  • I am hard at work on CZ:Community Pages. You could help!!!

• Hayford Peirce began articles about the French tennis players, the Four Musketeers, and the musical South Pacific. He also edited and added new material to Oklahoma and Rodgers and Hammerstein. He plans to add a party drink, the King Alphonse (or "Angel Tip") as soon as he drinks a couple of them for added strength of character.

• Anthony.Sebastian submitted for the September party a 'Signed Article' from open-access PLoS Biology, by John Whitfield, to the appropriate subpage in Life/Draft. He reformatted it to comply with CZ referencing guidelines, interpolated a few explanatory words in square brackets in the text, added a few notes in the reference section, and captured, uploaded and incorporated the original article's images. See: Whitfield, John, Survival of the Likeliest? — Using the laws of thermodynamics to explain natural selection — and life itself — A 2007 Essay from PLoS Biology. Chris Day made the submission possible by transferring the article to the subpage.

Porch sitters--article creators who didn't edit a new article

• Hendra started linear system.
• John Stephenson made an effort this month, despite intermittent web access, and created his own pseudostate.

Party crashers--contributors who didn't create a new article

• Chris Day (talk) Just enjoying the view :)
• Matt Innis (Talk) Too much work to do! Who has time to party!? Though he did play a little Rodgers and Hammerstein with User:Aleta Curry last night and nurtured his Venous stasis ulcers. He had to watch all those new talk pages while working on the Approval process while he pondered how Aleta could type so fast. Must be the champagne talking. -- Hey! I resemble that remark! Aleta Curry 18:14, 7 September 2007 (CDT) -- Hehe, yes you do! I suppose now your going to tell me you don't remember singing "The Sound of Music" last night. :-) --Matt Innis (Talk) 20:29, 7 September 2007 (CDT)
• Robert King uploaded a picture he created last weekend, but didn't do much else beside edit champagne. What a slacker!
• Roger Lohmann 21:14, 5 September 2007 (CDT) had to drive to Pittsburgh today for an important meeting, but did manage to create subpages semi-automatically this evening with the new template and initiate approval for a second Sociology (and History) article - a wonderful recent Jane Addams article of the week mostly by Richard Jensen. Time now to pop a bottle of a favorite Zinfandel and enjoy what's left of the evening.

The total party poops

Go ahead, admit it!

• Here I am, ready to... go hiking on the Latemar, a mountain of the Dolomites, before the snow cover my outcrops! Won't be here this time, but just suggested three potential articles... (or four?) --Nereo Preto 00:58, 5 September 2007 (CDT) P.S.: but be sure next month I won't be in this list: look for me in the parties!!! --Nereo Preto 00:59, 5 September 2007 (CDT)
• Joe Quick can't keep his eyes open, having worked at the Minnesota state fair for about fifteen hours per day over the last two weeks. His birthday came and went while he was at the fair and he would really like to see someone start an article about that topic.

Way to go Joe! Those TV commentators who have recently called the Iowa SF "the Greatest of the State Fairs" have obviously never been to the Midway! Roger Lohmann 15:17, 6 September 2007 (CDT)

Previous shindigs

• August 1, 2007

See also

• Larry Sanger, Why the Write-a-Thon worked, Citizendium Blog, August 9, 2007
• Weekly Wiki
• Article of the Week
• New Article of the Week